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IRBs and research institutions occasionally should revisit their conflict of interest policies and update them to make certain they effectively protect human subjects, as well as pass the "smell" test.
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It might take an individual IRB member from six months to a year to become fully acclimated to participating on an ethics board. So research institutions should do what they can to improve both new IRB member orientation and continuing education and training.
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When Sarah Fowler-Dixon, PhD, an education specialist in Washington University's Human Research Protection Office, began a project to develop the university's Internet research guideline for the university, she gathered a task force of IRB members, investigators involved in Internet research, and a technical advisor to help work through the complicated security issues involved.
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Videography can be a useful data collection tool in research, giving researchers access to information records of events, subtle non-verbal cues that can't be elicited any other way.
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When a Boston, MA, research team decided to study HIV/AIDS prevention among the mentally ill, a group that is particularly vulnerable to infection with the disease, they had to ensure their research volunteers were recruited with appropriate privacy safeguards and thoroughly understood their research participation.
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Using a simple clinical screening tool, patients considered at high risk for death in this closed medical ICU received a basic palliative care consultation. Those with unmet needs received a full consultation with ongoing intervention from the palliative care team. This process shortened ICU length of stay without affecting mortality rates or discharge disposition.
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Two recent studies suggest that rapid TIA evaluation and treatment can reduce stroke risk.
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Schistosomiasis and strongyloidiasis were highly prevalent in two cohorts of African refugees resettled to the United States; presumptive treatment for parasitic diseases in such groups should include coverage for these parasitoses.
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Of 2761 patients with endocarditis enrolled in a prospective, multinational cohort study, 49 patients with non-HACEK gram-negative endocarditis were identified. E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common pathogens, and 57% were considered to be health care associated. Fifty-nine percent of cases were associated with prosthetic valves. The mortality rate was high (24%) despite cardiac surgery being performed in 51% of cases.
